(Via Truth Revolt) The outgoing Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley (D)—who also happens to be a possible 2016 presidential candidate—has commuted the sentences of the state’s remaining death row inmates.
Last year, Maryland’s death penalty was repealed, which O’Malley cited in a statement Wednesday as the basis for his decision:
“Recent appeals and the latest opinion on this matter by Maryland’s Attorney General have called into question the legality of carrying out earlier death sentences — sentences imposed prior to abolition,” O’Malley said. “In fact, the Attorney General has opined that the carrying out of prior sentences is now illegal in the absence of an existing statute. The question at hand is whether any public good is served by allowing these essentially un-executable sentences to stand.” (read more)